Wentzell said the Army wasn’t always in his career path, even though he
is the grandchild of a Medal of Honor nominee. At first, he said, he
simply was looking for something that would give him a marketable skill
for a civilian career. But after joining the Army, he added, he found he
enjoyed military life.

“I wanted something more stable,” he
said. “My grandfather was in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was
one of the men to drop the first bombs during the war, then he was a
[prisoner of war] in the Korean War.”

His grandfather steered him
toward the military, Wentzell said. “But I only wanted to do four years
and get out,” he added. “So I talked over my choice with my wife, and
she agreed. Three days later, I was in the Army.”

Wentzell
originally chose to become a heating, ventilation and air conditioning
mechanic, thinking that this profession would be a lucrative career
choice. But he soon realized it wasn’t the job for him, he said.

He later deployed as a motor transportation operator in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. This didn’t give him the feeling he had hoped
for when he joined the Army, he said. But on several missions, he saw
explosive ordnance disposal technicians at work. Intrigued, he attended a
question-and-answer session and decided to give EOD a shot.

His
curiosity sparked a new job interest, Wentzell said, but he wasn’t sure
early on if he wanted to continue on the path he had started. He gave
EOD a chance, completing contract extensions to finish EOD school, and
finally found what he was looking for, he said.

When the time
came to use his EOD skills in combat, he didn’t hesitate to complete his
mission. In March 2011, Wentzell was deployed to Regional Command
South, where he cleared improvised explosive devices and unexploded
ordnance. He finally got that rush of adrenaline and excitement he had
been searching for all along, he said. With a child on the way, he
re-enlisted during his deployment.

Just days after the birth of
his daughter, the unthinkable happened. A flash of light, heat and a
sudden jolt of energy threw his body backward. He’d stepped on an
anti-personnel mine attached to a 25-gallon jug packed with homemade
explosives. The mine exploded, but the jug didn’t. Still, Wentzell broke
his tibia, fibula, heel, ankle and toes, and he was medically
evacuated.

“When I came to, I was angry; I wouldn’t be able to
keep my guys safe,” Wentzell said. “I got depressed, because I was
leaving my dudes. I knew I could keep them safe -- I wasn’t sure about
the next guy.”

But he added that he considers himself lucky,
noting that others had been killed or had lost limbs in explosions of
similar mines.

The recovery process was long and hard, Wentzell
said, but wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He credits his
determination and fighting spirit for cutting down his recovery time.

Now deployed to Regional Command East, Wentzell said he has decided not to allow that one accident to define him.

“I decided to come back here because I felt my time was cut short and I
needed to do this,” he said. “[If I didn’t come back], I never could
have known if I could handle it.”

The time away helped him see
how much Afghanistan has changed, Wentzell said, and the partnership
with the Afghan soldiers has brought a new sense of commonality. “I’ve
realized that the Afghan and coalitions forces have a common goal: a
better Afghanistan,” he said.

His current deployment has piqued another interest: instructing.

“I’m trying to be an instructor at Fort Lee, Va., for the pre-EOD
course before the actual course at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.,” he said.
“I want to stay in the Army and hopefully one day become a command
sergeant major.”

For those who have been injured in combat and still want to serve, Wentzell has a message to share.
“I really respect their decision,” he said. “It’s going to be hard, and
at times, extremely hard. But if you have the will and determination to
continue on, you’ll be successful.”